Bittersweet
by QuietDragon
Summary: Jessie and Ash centric. No, it's not shippy. It's about her past and also his, in a way. Read and comment!


**Bittersweet**

Disclaimer: Pokemon is property of Nintendo, Satoshi Tajiri, and others who are not me. Why would I be typing up _fan_fiction if I did own the franchise?

Author's Notes: This isn't a new one, but it's not that old. I actually really like this one.  
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'Don't you three ever give up?'  
The boy held the yellow-furred rodent securely in his arms as he cried out at the three theives who chased him constantly attempting to steal his precious Pokemon.  
He pulled his cap down, keeping his other arm around Pikachu.  
The team of theives swallowed, knowing what was coming next. That is, all but the girl.  
The girl simply took a few steps closer, Ash embraced the rodent closer to his body, brown eyes narrowed as he pulled himself to full height in defiance.

The girl stopped before him, cold blue eyes falling closed as a smirk grew on her face. Her red hair was styled into a strange side-wards curve as usual and she wore the same white uniform. But something was different. Something was stopping him from attacking.

'Pikapi...?' Pikachu's soft voice felt distant as it gave its trainer- and best friend- a worried look.

Ash tried to break the overwhelming silence. 'Well! If you don't have anything to say,' he released the Pikachu, rather reluctantly... why won't this feeling leave him!

Her eyes snapped open, but he could not trace any hint of fear or worry on her face. A shiver rippled up his spine, which he tried to ignore.

Pikachu was tense, tail raised, squaring its shoulders and giving off sparks.

'I just wanted to ask a question,' Jessie said.  
Ash decided he better just get it over with now, 'P-Pikachu, thund'  
She grabbed his wrist as he gave the command, stopping him.

Pikachu stopped, lifting its gaze back to the surprised Ash.  
'... Hey!' Ash pulled his arm away. 'Fine, what is it'  
'What's your favorite childhood memory?' Jessie asked, arms folding across her chest.  
Now it was her turn to look defiant while Ash stood there dumbfounded.  
'If you're doing this to buy time for-'

She raised a hand. 'Nope, just a simple question. No tricks.'

She shot a look at her team mates who were as confused as Ash.

'I don't know,' his voice was uncertain. 'Probably when I first got my cap! ... Or of my mom'  
'Thought so. A sweet warm memory is exactly what I expected to get from you,' she shook her head a bit, still smiling. 'Then again, that's pretty much what every 'normal' person replies with, isn't it? A happy pastel memory of lazy summer days with your parents. I'm sure you're wondering what mine would be, wouldn't you?'

The boy remained silent, surveying her as she paced around him. 'What...?' was all he could say.  
He gave cautious glances every time she neared Pikachu, but she simply walked around it without making any attempt to grab it... still, he didn't trust her.  
'You probably don't care, but mine is of snow. That's right, snow. Cold and bitter, those are my happiest memories. Not the warmth of my mother's hugs or the loving licks from a pet. Snow.'

She laughed bitterly, still tracing a circle around the boy. 'So... what does your mother look like? Do you know'  
Ash sniffed. 'Of course! Who wouldn't know what their own mother's look like! She's got brown hair, and brown eyes- like mine- and she usually wears a pink shirt'  
'Enough,' Jessie said, the smile dissapearing now. 'I don't remember what mine looked like after she left me'  
'That's because you're crazy! How could anyone forget their own parents!'

There was nothing now, the boy's attention focused solely on the older girl, as everything around him melted away, Pikachu's distant voice now hardly noticed.

Jessie's eyes flashed cold, but she didn't yell. 'It is possible to forget a face after ten or more years. Time fades the pictures, blurs the memories, distorts the voices... the one thing that remains is how they made you feel. You can't ever forget that.'

'Why'd she leave you? Probably didn't love you anyway... is that it? Too evil to be loved by mommy?' Ash laughed a fake laugh, while deep down, his thoughts turned to someone else.

He'd hit a nerve; Jessie struck the ground with her boot, inches away from where Pikachu sat.  
'Pika!' the electric mouse cried as it flew into Ash's arms, shivering.  
Ash sent her a fleeting glare.

'I don't know why she put me in foster care. Probably because of money. But whatever the reason, I know she loved me'  
'How would you know that...?' Ash asked, tears collecting in the corners of his eyes.  
'You think you're such a great trainer,' she said. 'Or the prettiest girl in the world... everyone tries to convince you, you're just having delusions of granduer. Just the shabby little outcast who won't ever be famous or loved. They say you're too old to still be clinging to childish things'  
Ash swallowed, gaze falling onto the ground, his breathing irregular as he tried to stiffle a sob, thinking of the times he'd been told his dreams of being a Pokemon Master were silly.  
'Still, you believe in your little white dream, your light in this darkness that is your life. Still you wait for your white day... to be loved or to be a Pokemon Master, it doesn't matter whatever your dream. Everyone else just rolled their eyes, and they always thought of you as only the best... didn't they?' she said.

Ash looked away.  
Silently, she drifted away, her team mates following quietly behind, leaving the boy alone.

Hugging Pikachu tightly, he then pulled his cap down over his eyes as a tear fell on Pikachu. 'Chuuu'  
'My mom's like that... do you think my dad-- do you think... he loved me too, Pikachu?' Ash asked.

* * *

End! Now go comment. 


End file.
